


LONELY BOY

by tsukeishima



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 14:17:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5543018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukeishima/pseuds/tsukeishima
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a new newspaper boy. Kageyama also suddenly sprouts a few gray hairs and makes wrong observations. [soulmate AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	LONELY BOY

**Author's Note:**

> written for the hq christmas exchange! this is my gift for sweetbinarystars i hope you like it!

One thing Kageyama remembered vividly from his childhood was when the neighbor’s eldest daughter, on her way to cram school and toting a plate of simmered vegetables to share with Kageyama’s mom, promptly dropped said plate on top of his head when he unintentionally surprised her with his presence. Her scream alerted a passing salaryman, who found a visibly shaken girl and a young child covered in dinner vegetables. At this, the girl screamed again, this time pointing at the man’s hair which was turning grey.

            The next day, the girl’s hair also sported a few grays. And the salaryman also started to visit her often.

            It was only in middle school that Kageyama found out what the fuss was about. When his homeroom teacher started to panic during the parent visit, because the girl who sat next to him brought her mom and Sachiko-sensei visibly trembled, clutching at her chest. There were a few smattering applause from the parents, and the kids who understood what it meant. Their teacher wore her hair down for the rest of the year, proud of the salt-and-pepper streaks in her hair and the wedding band on her finger.

            High school arrived and Kageyama’s hair was as black as ever. He heard that one of his volleyball seniors at KitaDai had found their soulmate, the first one among his peers. He wanted to ask who but the only email he had was Kunimi’s and he was still mad after the fiasco that happened on their last school festival. Suffice to say, Kunimi wasn’t really happy being mistaken as Kageyama’s intended, and the fact that he was covered in white paint.

            His first day as a high school student started with a high-pitched squeak coming from the outside, followed by a dull thump. He went downstairs to find his mother frowning at the newspaper in her hands, mumbling about her plants.

            “Seems like there’s a new newspaper boy.” She only said, and served him his breakfast.

            He was still yawning by the time he was fully dressed, stopping by the kitchen to fetch his lunch and to let his mother fawn over him. She cooed over his new uniform and sniffed at the thought of him growing up, before brushing imaginary dust off his shoulders and straightening his lapels. Typical mother behavior. Kageyama just nodded and mumbled a ‘bye’, slipping past her and to the door when a strong grip stopped him.

            “Tobio, are those… gray hairs?” his mother asked, almost warily. Her grip didn’t waver in strength.

            He paused, one shoe still left untied, running to the nearest reflective surface. Sure enough, a lone gray hair stood out on his jet black locks. His mother dropped the mirror she was holding and looked to be on the verge of tears. Kageyama, as dense as he was, did not fail to notice the signs of a full-blown mom freak-out and ran out of the house.

            And bumped into someone on the way out.

            Music blared from headphones being removed, steely eyes glaring at Kageyama. “Watch where you’re going.” The boy said, his tone grating on Kageyama’s ears.

He watched the (rude) boy go, the gears in his brain slowly moving. He hurried up after him, almost bumping into another person again. The small boy squeaked, bumping into his bicycle but Kageyama paid him no heed, intently following the boy from earlier.

            Kageyama decided to call him Glasses, after noticing that the boy did sport aforementioned eye accessories. As luck would have it, they were in the same class. Kageyama kept glancing at him all throughout the welcoming ceremony, trying to get any sort of strange feeling from him. Glasses did not seem to notice his fervent gazes, having zoned out by the first half of the principal’s speech. A few seats behind him, a teacher was scolding a student, probably a late-comer. The boy kept on saying excuses about how someone bumped into him on the way and almost broke his bike. Hm. What a dumbass.

            As the principal wrapped up his speech, Glasses suddenly went on full alert, his back ramrod straight. The first year representative was then asked to come to the stage, the principal having made his way back to his chair. At this, Glasses stood up and made his way to the front.

            “First year representative, Tsukishima Kei.”

            Kageyama watched Glasses- or was it Tsukishima now- take the podium. He then started his speech, his voice, devoid of any inflections whatsoever, failing to induce any sort of feelings within Kageyama. But he listened on, willing something to happen, whatever that may be. It was only when the ceremony ended that Kageyama realized he had clenched his fists tightly, crescent-shaped marks visible against his skin. Somehow, it made him feel strangely disappointed.

           

            Any plans Kageyama had haphazardly formulated to investigate further went to the drain by the time lunchtime rolled by. As soon as the bell rang, a crowd immediately gathered around Tsukishima’s desk, pestering him with all sorts of questions. When the crowd did not seem to be dispersing soon, despite the main attraction’s refusal to entertain them, Kageyama decided to get something from the vending machines instead.

            The offerings were impressive and Kageyama was torn between which milk looked milkier. Leaving the choice up to fate, he pressed both buttons at the same time and waited for the outcome. The tell-tale sound of his mysterious beverage hitting the till meant that the gods have decided. Bending down to get his milk, he was suddenly jostled to the side by a speeding orange blur. The two of them both fell down at the same time, groaning at the pain.

            Orange Blur was the first one to recover. Kageyama watched him freak out, his hands waving around wildly before he bowed deeply. “I’m so sorry!”

            Kageyama, after the events that transpired since this morning, had no more patience left. Getting to his feet, he strode towards the much smaller boy, towering over him.

            “Watch where you’re going.” He gritted out. He felt a sense of déjà vu at those words, then remembered that Tsukishima said the same thing to him this morning.

            The boy cowered, but lashed out immediately. “It was an accident, okay!”

            Kageyama took a step forward, the boy taking a step back, sensing his anger. Before they could even launch into a fight, a girl entered the scene. Taking in their stances, her eyes widened, and she pointed a shaky finger at them.

            “G-gang war!” she wailed.

            Both of them paled.

 

            Thankfully, the teachers weren’t involved and so were the student body. Most of the students had gone back inside since lunch break was nearly ending. Orange Blur also managed to calm the girl down, whose name was Yachi and was apparently a five-foot ball of pure nerves and possessed quite an imagination.

            “We’re not fighting, Yachi-san!” Orange said for the nth time, gripping the girl’s shoulders.

            Yachi nodded, her hair flying everywhere with her vigorous nodding. “Sorry, Hinata-kun. I just panicked because he’s so tall and you’re so tiny compared to him and-”

            At this, Kageyama snickered. Orange Blur- Hinata, the girl called him- hissed at him, obviously affronted by the remark about his height.

            “You laughing at me, huh?” Hinata asked, cracking his knuckles.

            Kageyama snickered more. Hinata moved forward, swinging his fists while Yachi held onto him for dear life.

            “Oi, you three. Lunch break is over.”

            Three pairs of eyes stared at the source of the voice. Tsukishima stood there, sipping milk. Specifically, the milk Kageyama let destiny decide for him. They watched him walk away, stunned at his abrupt appearance and equally abrupt exit. Yachi tugged at Hinata’s sleeves, pulling him towards the doors.

            They ran inside, joining the other students rushing to their classrooms. Hinata sped away from them, yelling. Some students laughed.

            Kageyama was about to enter his class room when Yachi’s hesitant voice stopped him.

“Um, Scary-san?”

“Kageyama.”

“Ah, yes, Kageyama-kun.” She fidgeted with her cuffs, looking more nervous. “Y-you should check your hair as soon as you can!” she said, all in one go before running away.

Not caring whether he’d be reprimanded, Kageyama made a side trip to the restroom. And sure enough, a few strands of gray joined the first one this morning.

 

            There was no doubt about it: Kageyama’s soulmate is definitely Tsukishima. He had been present at both times, triggering the changing process. Kageyama chewed on the end of his pen angrily, eyeing the bane of his existence at the corner of his eye. Tsukishima sat there, looking bored as hell, while constantly taking notes. Kageyama looked down at his own notes. He only managed to jot down a few before settling on doodling chibi figures. He definitely should practice drawing more.

            It’s been two weeks since his startling discovery, which also meant two weeks of outcropping of gray hairs. He pulled most of them out, not wanting to invite attention about his soulmate, especially when said soulmate is a stingy bastard. Despite being in the same class and club, their interactions always resulted in snarky remarks.

            And to top it all off, the hyperactive idiot known as Hinata Shouyou also joined the club and is now a constant presence in his life. The captain somehow thought they’d work well together and decided to build them up as a combination duo, much to their dismay. Kageyama was a bit happy about that part though; while his basic skills are crappy at best, Hinata was probably the one who trusted in his tosses the most, something he didn’t particularly experience back in middle school. It was really stupid, the way they both seemed to wrok well together, which Tsukishima liked to poke fun at. Somehow, Kageyama felt really angry whenever that happened. Was it because of their predestined bond? Or just plain annoyance?

            The whole soulmate business tired him out, especially since no one was forthcoming with their answers when he asked. Everyone had different experiences to share and none of them particularly applied to him and Tsukishima. The feeling of ease in the other person’s presence, an almost telepathic connection, and a sense of bond between him and his soulmate were all completely absent. Maybe there had been a mistake? He couldn’t really confirm; any opportunity to check for any signs of change with Tsukishima always ended up with both of them getting yelled at by the captain.

            “Tsukishima?!” Hinata almost yelled, when Kageyama told him about his soulmate. Somehow the topic popped up on their way home, Hinata babbling about the girl from the class next door ending up with one of his classmates. He then ended up asking Kageyama if he knew who his soulmate was, and Kageyama, feeling the need to talk about his problem with someone, confided in him.

            “Shut up, dumbass. Ukai-san will yell at us.” Kageyama smacked him upside the head, muttering ‘stupid’ under his breath.

            Hinata clutched his smarting head, his eyes watering a bit. “That was a bit too much, Kageyama, you idiot.”

            “That’s because you won’t shut up!”

            “I was shocked, alright! I mean, of all people, it had to be Tsukishima.”

            Kageyama shrugged. “I know.”

            “Man, sucks to be you, Kageyama.” Hinata snickered under his breath.

            “Shut up.”

            They walked in silence for a while, before Hinata decided to break the silence, as always. “What are you gonna do about it then?”

            “I dunno.” Kageyama sighed, shrugging his jacket closer to his body. The nights had been getting colder as spring ended.

            “Why don’t you ask Sugawara-san? Didn’t he already find his?”

            Kageyama stopped, looking at Hinata with admiration. “That’s a great idea.”

            Hinata sniffed proudly. “Of course.”

            “You look stupid walking around without a jacket though, dumbass.” Kageyama went back to his usual tone. “Did you forget yours?”

            “Yeah, I left it at the gym.” Hinata let out a huge sneeze.

            Kageyama slid his jacket off his shoulders, handing it to Hinata, who looked at him as if he started reciting the entirety of Genji Monogatari. Sighing, he threw it at him. Hinata yelped as the heavy fabric hit him on the head.

            “Why are you giving this to me?” he demanded, rubbing his nose

            “Because you’re cold, are you an idiot?” Kageyama fired back.

            Hinata looked taken aback, his eyes growing wide. Kageyama watched a blush creep from his neck to his cheeks. An unfamiliar fluttery feeling settled in his stomach, spreading outwards to his toes and fingers. Strange.

            “O-only couples do this sort of thing,” Hinata mumbled, averting his eyes. His ears were glowing red.

            It was Kageyama’s turn to blush. Looking away, he choked out, “Just take it, dumbass. I’m going home.”

            He walked a few steps away from Hinata, before breaking into a run. He never looked back.

 

           

            The next day, he woke up to find another gray hair on his head and his mother mumbling something about newspaper boys again. He ignored her inquiring looks and focused instead on eating his breakfast at top speed. He hurriedly put on his shoes and ran out of the door, past his mother bidding him a safe trip, and the broken flowerpots that had been changed almost entirely every day because the newspaper delivery liked to make them his target. Sure enough, Tsukishima was walking a few meters ahead. Not up to his usual attempts at nosing around, he ran past him and sped towards the school.

            Sugawara-san always arrived first for practice, and sure enough he was already setting up the nets when Kageyama stumbled inside the gym. Sugawara saw his disheveled state and hurried to him, offering his water bottle. Kageyama drank greedily, mumbling his thanks, before standing up to face his senior.

            “Sugawara-san, may I ask you a question?” he panted, still out of breath.

            The older boy smiled at him and nodded. “I don’t mind. What do you want to ask me?”

            Kageyama took a deep breath. “I would like to ask about soulmates.”

            “Oh, well, this is certainly a surprise.” Sugawara said. “Is everything alright with you and Hinata?”

            “Uh, yes we’re fine, we’ve been practicing regularly and- Eh?”

            “Isn’t Hinata your soulmate?” Sugawara looked at him inquiringly.

            Kageyama stared at him incredulously. “Why would you think that? He isn’t my soulmate.”

            It was Sugawara’s turn to look incredulous. “I just thougt- Well, I’m obviously mistaken I guess. I was so sure though,” he paused, seemingly in thought. “Who is it then?”

            “Tsukishima.”

            Kageyama didn’t expect him to laugh, but Sugawara definitely laughed, almost doubling up. “Good one, Kageyama.” He snorted, wiping a tear from his eye.

            “I’m serious, Sugawara-san.”

            “Are you sure?”

            “Ye- Uh, well, that was what I wanted to ask you.” Kageyama mumbled. “All the signs have appeared but… I’m not really sure.”

            “Then, you’ve assumed wrongly, right?” Sugawara smiled at him. “You really shouldn’t rely on physical changes, Kageyama. In this case, you should trust your feeling. Maybe you’re just looking at the wrong place at the wrong time.” He winked.

            Kageyama nodded dumbly, unsure of how to take the news. Sugawara clapped him on the back, grinning at him reassuringly. “Worry about that later, okay? Help me set up.”

 

            Kageyama mulled about things all throughout first and second period, finally getting reprimanded by third period and made to stand outside the hallway for the rest of the remaining time. Tsukishima’s tell-tale snickering barely registered in his mind as he went to take his spot outside, his attention on something else.

            He morosely made his way to the vending machine, doing his customary Two-Button-Mashing and waited for his milk. He sighed, leaning his forehead against the cool glass of the machine. The mechanical whirring sounds comforted him a little, his attention taken away. A plopping sound vibrated against him, his drink already waiting. He reached for the milk carton only to find the till empty. He looked around and saw Tsukishima, sipping milk as if he didn’t snatch it away from its owner’s scrunched-up nose.

            “You seem to be absent-minded today, King, more than usual.” Tsukishima drawled. “Trouble in paradise?”

            Kageyama frowned at him. “What do you mean?”

            “Just like everybody else, you’re thinking about soulmates, right? Which is a mystery since you and Shorty seem to getting along just fine.”

            Anger bubbled up in Kageyama’s throat. “Why is everybody assuming that Hinata’s my soulmate?”

            “Because he is, isn’t he?” Tsukishima cocked an eyebrow at him. “Don’t tell me you’re unaware of it?”

            “I- Uh,” he cleared his throat, trying to find words but failing.

            “I kind of expected it, both of you being idiots,” Tsukishima sighed. “You better get going, or you’ll get thrown out again.”

            He had taken a few steps forwards when Kageyama yelled at him to stop. “Tell me, have you found yours?” Kageyama asked.

            Tsukishima smiled. “Since middle school. Now if you’ll excuse me, your Highness, I have classes to attend to.”

           

            He was in a state of denial for three hours before Kageyama decided to fuck it all and confront the issue head on. Unfortunately for him, the main topic of his problem wasn’t at school, having stayed home due to a cold. Kageyama gritted his teeth, sending a short e-mail to Hinata, telling him he should have worn the jacket and not decided to get a cold instead. It made him feel better for a while, until the walk home struck him as very miserable. Did he miss Hinata? Yes, he did, he grudgingly admitted to himself.

            A short visit would have been good, nice even, but Kageyama didn’t know where Hinata lived and he felt stupid asking him for his address. The idiot didn’t even reply to the mail he sent earlier, which only made him more disgruntled. He decided to send another message, before deciding to delete it altogether and went to bed, punching his pillow into a pulp until he was exhausted.

            He woke up to a dreary morning, the overcast skies doing nothing to improve his mood. His alarm hadn’t gone off yet, having risen thirty minutes earlier than usual. His mother was still cooking breakfast when he went down, so he munched on some bread while he waited for his food and moped.

            A loud crash interrupted their peaceful morning. His mother groaned, whining about her flowers again. A loud voice called out a squeaky ‘Sorry!’ outside, presumably the culprit who had been wrecking his mother’s flower pots for weeks now. Deciding to take care of the problem before his mother pitched a fit, he headed out into the chill morning.

            And saw Hinata picking up the broken pieces of his mother’s flower pots.

            They stared at each other for a full minute, before Hinata let out another squeak and started to make his escape. Kageyama, already accustomed to his reflexes, managed to catch him by the collar before he even made the run for it.

            “I’m sorry Kageyama, tell your mom I’m sorry I broke her flower pots again!” Hinata wailed, struggling to free himself from Kageyama’s hold.

            “Stop moving around and stay put, you idiot!” Kageyama yelled at him but the smaller boy paid him no heed and wiggled around more.

            Kageyama moved forward, reaching out to grip him by the arms instead but Hinata jumped at the feel of icy fingers on his skin. This sudden movement caused him to bump against Kageyama, who immediately fell backwards, taking Hinata with him.

            “This is all your fault, dumbass Hinata!” he growled, trying to unravel himself from the mess of limbs.

            Hinata whined at him. “It wasn’t my fault, stupid Kageyama, stupid stupid stup- Hey!”

            “What?”

            “Your hair.”

            Kageyama didn’t need a mirror to know what happened. “It’s turning gray, right?” Hinata nodded. “Yours is too.”

            At this Hinata screamed, clutching at his hair. “Pull them out, Kageyama, pull them out, pull them out quick!”

            “Why should I do that?”

            Hinata looked at him seriously. “It’s because the stingy lady at that house by the corner is my soulmate and I don’t want that! It’s worse than having Tsukishima!”

            Kageyama couldn’t believe he was feeling relieved at his- dare he say it - soulmate’s ridiculousness. “She’s not your soulmate.”

            Big eyes looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

            “B-Because, it’s me. I’m your soulmate.”

            “You’re joking.”

            “I’m not.”

            “Yes you are.”

            “I said I’m not.”

            Hinata pouted at him. “Prove it.”

            Kageyama would later blame Tanaka and Nishinoya for planting the most cliché ideas in his head, because the next thing he did was kiss Hinata full on the mouth. It was short and chaste, just a tentative touching of their lips, which he’s sure he’ll get teased about for many years to come, when they’ve traded many more kisses. He’s not worried about it. For now.

            Hinata was steaming red when they broke apart, spluttering at him. “Why did you have to do that?”

            “Because you asked me to prove it!” Kageyama yelled back.

            “It didn’t have to be a kiss, though.” Hinata mumbled.

            Kageyama gulped. “You didn’t… like it?”

            “No!” Hinata almost shouted. “I-I did.”

            Kageyama flushed a deep red, his skin tingling with warmth. Reaching out to take Hinata’s hand, he gripped it tight, lacing their fingers together.

            “I-I think I like you.” He stammered.

            “Yeah, m-me too.” Hinata said, very earnestly.

            They stayed like that for a few moments, holding hands under the cold morning sky. They would have happily stayed like that till evening but fate has other plans decided to ruin their sweet moment by sending in Kageyama’s mother.

            “Are you done?” she asked, hands on her hips.

            Hinata squeaked, hiding behind Kageyama’s tall form. “I’m really sorry for the pots, Auntie.” He said tearily.

            Kageyama’s mom was silent before letting out a sigh, smiling at them. “I could always replace them. You really should work on your aim, though.” Turning around, she opened the front door wide. “Come in, you two, and get some breakfast before you go to school.”

            Hinata looked up at Kageyama hesitantly, his hand gripping the other tightly. Kageyama just smiled and tugged at his hand, pulling him towards the house. Kageyama’s mother smiled at them.

            “I;m so happy for you, dear.” She whispered to her son, before leading an obviously flustered Hinata to the kitchen.

            Kageyama smiled at them, before closing the door.


End file.
